


You Had Me at the First Scoop

by Sproings



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Amputee Bucky Barnes, Ice Cream, Ice Cream Shop AU, M/M, Meet-Cute, unbearable cuteness, with hot fudge on top
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 08:45:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7708525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sproings/pseuds/Sproings





	You Had Me at the First Scoop

**Monday**

Bucky actually flinched when the bell over the door rang again.

There were plenty of things that Natasha hadn’t mentioned when she’d set him up with this job. Like the fact that his manager was younger than he was. It was only three years, and Darcy was more than competent enough to manage an ice cream shop, but still, it grated. He already knew he was falling behind in life, he didn’t need the reminder that he was down by at least three fucking years.

Natasha also hadn’t told him that there were gymnastics classes for toddlers in the building next door.

The classes were called Bitsy Bumbles. 

It was even worse than the name of the ice cream shop, and Scooper-Dooper was pretty fucking hard to beat.

Bitsy Bumbles managed, though.

Not only was the name horrifyingly cute, but every single class was apparently required to stop here for ice cream. By the third class of the day, Bucky’s ears were ringing from the joyful shrieks, and he still had four hours of his shift left.

Worst of all, though, Natasha most assuredly had never mentioned that the most gorgeous man to ever walk the planet would be a customer here.

It was possible she didn’t know.

No, that was ridiculous. She always knew. There was no way she’d missed this guy.

Taller than Bucky. Wider than Bucky. He had golden hair and bright blue eyes, and a choir of angels would have been far more appropriate than the tinkle of the little brass bell above the door to announce his arrival.

Bucky forced his face into a professional smile and waited as the guy made his way toward the counter.

“Steve!” The excited squeal from behind him rivaled the Bitsy Bumblers for both volume and pitch, and was barely recognizable as Darcy’s voice. 

She went rushing around the counter and pounced on the gorgeous customer, on _Steve,_ who caught her effortlessly.

“Eww, you’re all sweaty and gross, as usual,” Darcy said, shoving Steve away.

Steve seemed like he was only barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes, that’s why I’m here.”

“Yeah, but you never come when you’re not disgusting,” she said, wiping her hands on his shirt.

It was a terrific shirt. So terrific, in fact, that Bucky wanted to hand deliver a very sincere thank you note to whoever had designed it. Because it clung to Steve, stretching tight with every breath he took, and holy hell, Bucky needed to stop staring. 

Steve pouted at Darcy. _Pouted._ It was delicious. “Are you saying I shouldn’t stop here during my run anymore?”

“I’m saying you should run home, take a shower, and then drive here like a normal person,” Darcy shot back.

“In that case, normal people are very weird,” Steve said. “And I’m already here.” 

“I suppose you’re allowed to stay.” Darcy poked him in the chest. “Next time try to be more huggable though.”

Steve did roll his eyes at that, and stepped around Darcy toward the counter, smiling back at her.

Bucky was pretty sure the guy couldn’t possibly be more huggable, but he didn’t say so. What he said was, “Welcome to Scooper-Dooper. Can I offer you a sample?”

He did not put a hint of innuendo into that offer, because he needed this job and his boss was right there, smirking at their customer. He held up the little sample-sized scooper and clicked the release mechanism a few times.

That got Steve’s attention. His eyes went wide with surprise as he focused in on Bucky’s hand. 

It was perfectly understandable, and far from the worst reaction Bucky had ever gotten. Earlier today a kid had literally run away screaming when they saw that he had a robot arm. 

Still, Steve looked like he was about half a second away from making some kind of apology for looking, and Bucky fucking hated that kind of apology, had no good way to answer a ‘sorry’, so he said, “Our special today is bubble gum, but you look more like a green tea and honey kinda guy.”

Steve’s eyes shifted to Bucky’s face, but he still didn’t seem to know what to say, so Bucky went ahead and scooped out a sample of the green tea and honey and handed it over. 

They served samples here in tiny edible bowls, which Bucky secretly found delightful. There was no trash to clean up, and he thought it was pretty fun to pop one in his mouth and crunch down on it. They were the best appetizers he’d ever seen, really.

Steve turned it in his hand, looking it over. “It’s very green.”

“Truth in advertising,” Bucky said, trying not to smirk, but Steve and Darcy both looked at him, and Darcy grinned while Steve raised an eyebrow. Smirking was no longer optional at that point, it was a requirement. “Look, if it’s too much for you, I can just toss it out.”

Steve narrowed his eyes and shoved the ice cream cup in his mouth, chomping down with a vengeance. 

Darcy laughed as Steve scrunched up his face.

“‘S weird,” Steve explained, around the ice cream in his mouth.

“You want to try the bubble gum, instead?” Bucky asked.

“No, thank you,” Steve said. “Jeez, I meant to just get a bottle of water. I still have to run home, and I’d rather not throw up.”

“Oh no, and now it’ll all be green if you do,” Bucky said, grinning.

“Could we _not_ talk about vomit in front of the customers?” Darcy said.

“He started it,” Bucky said without thinking.

Steve threw his head back and laughed. It was a great sound, but Bucky was pretty sure it wasn’t worth getting fired over.

Pretty sure.

Luckily, Darcy was smiling indulgently at Steve, and didn’t seem inclined to make Bucky turn in his badge and his scooper.

“Sorry, Darce,” Steve said, still chuckling. “I’m a bad influence.”

“Darce?” Bucky said, delighted.

Darcy glared at him. “No.” Then she glared at Steve. “Buy your boring water and stop corrupting my newby.”

Bucky pulled out a water bottle and handed it over while Darcy rang it up.

Steve magically produced a wallet from somewhere, even though his running pants seemed far too tight to have been hiding anything, and swiped his card. He tipped his water toward Bucky and grinned. “Thanks. Sorry for corrupting you, uh, James.”

Bucky looked down at the tag on his apron and said, “Oh, it’s Bucky, actually. I mean, James is my name, but ... It’s Bucky.”

Steve stuck his hand out, and as they shook he said, “Nice to meet you, Bucky. I’m Steve.”

“Hello, Steve. Hey, and don’t worry about corrupting me. I wasn’t exactly pure of heart before you came along.” 

Steve chuckled, a low dark rumble that shot right through Bucky’s chest. “Well, see you around, Bucky.”

The view from the front had been heart-stopping enough. Watching Steve walk away was a blissful form of torture.

As he went out, Steve held the door open for a new pack of screaming children. 

Serving them was just the regular kind of torture, no bliss at all.

**Tuesday**

“There has to be some kinda OSHA rule about this. We should be provided with hearing protection,” Bucky said, after the door closed on the most recent gaggle of toddlers.

Darcy snorted. “You’re welcome to take it up with the owner.”

“I’m sure Mr. Drake would love to hear all about it,” Bucky said, with a false sincerity that made Darcy chuckle. “Besides, we should be --”

“Steve!” Darcy raced for the door before the bell even jingled.

Bucky would have wondered how she could be so enthusiastic when she’d just seen the guy yesterday, except ... It was Steve.

Bucky had half convinced himself that his memory had been exaggerating, but no, Steve’s smile really was that gorgeous. He was wearing blue today, which made his eyes look so amazing that Bucky missed out on the whole conversation Darcy had with him.

When he finally approached the counter, Bucky grinned at him. “Mocha chip is the special today. You want a sample of that, or something else?”

“Nah, just the water,” Steve said. 

“You’re not gonna try anything?”

Bucky knew he shouldn’t have said it like that, disappointed and kind of judgey, and he really felt like an asshole when Steve shifted his feet uncomfortably. 

“I got sick a lot as a kid,” Steve said, blowing out a deep breath. “A lot. And I really -- “

“Hey, it’s okay,” said Bucky. “You don’t have to explain. Sorry for pushing it. Believe me, I understand about not wanting to explain all the time.” 

He wiggled his robot fingers. 

Steve looked them over for a moment, but his eyes went right back to Bucky’s face. He gave a crooked smile and said, “So, what’s your favorite flavor?”

The question surprised a little laugh out of Bucky. “Rum raisin. For three reasons.”

“Oh, of course you have reasons,” Steve said, propping his elbows on the counter, all easy familiarity. Damn, he was breathtaking. 

Bucky leaned forward against the ice cream display. “Well, yeah. I wouldn’t just pick a favorite willy nilly.”

Steve laughed, and Bucky had no choice but to do the same. “C’mon,” Steve said, still chuckling, “I’m invested now. What are the reasons behind rum raisin?”

“First of all, it tastes good. Obviously. Smooth and subtle, with the punch of the raisins to keep it interesting.”

Steve grinned. “I’m really glad taste was somewhere on the list. It seems sort of important.”

“Reason number two,” said Bucky, keeping his voice just shy of sultry, “is chemistry.”

That got Steve to raise an eyebrow, but he stayed quiet.

“It’s _rum_ raisin, instead of just raisin, because alcohol has a lower freezing point than water. Plain raisins turn into pebbles in the freezer, but soak them in rum first and they stay soft.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” said Steve.

“Literally.”

Steve smiled and rolled his eyes, and Bucky kinda wanted to make that happen all the time. It was a really good look on him.

“The third reason, which should maybe be the second or first reason, is that none of the Bitsy Bumblers are allowed to order it.”

“The what?”

“The little kids from the gymnastics classes, who come in here and scream and make my day a living hell. Their grownups never let them have rum raisin. It’s awesome.” Bucky shot him a wicked little grin.

Steve laughed. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’ll try it.”

“You sure?” That hadn’t even been what Bucky was aiming for, and he really didn’t want to make Steve uncomfortable.

“Yeah. I kept down the green tea and honey. And by the way, that stuff was bizarre. Why did you pick that one for me?”

“Because it’s all healthy and shit? You’re a jogger, and -- “

Steve’s mouth dropped open in mock outrage. “I’m a runner, there’s a difference. Besides, ice cream isn’t supposed to be healthy. That defeats the purpose.”

Bucky grinned. “Oh, a man after my own heart.”

“Guess so,” Steve said.

Bucky tried not to read too much into that, or into the way Steve raised one eyebrow, and he scooped a sample. As he handed it over, he said, “I made sure you got some raisins.”

“Thanks.” Steve popped the sample in his mouth and made a bit of a show of considering the flavor as he chewed, then grinned once he finished. “It’s good! Don’t know if it’s my favorite, but it’s good.”

“Well, the only way to find your favorite is to try them all.” Bucky deliberately made it a challenge, and it worked, Steve’s eyes narrowed and his lips curved in a gorgeous smirk.

“Looks like I’ll have to keep coming back, then,” Steve said, his voice even lower than usual.

“Looks like,” Bucky said cheerily, ignoring the flutter in his veins. He rang up Steve’s water bottle and set it on the counter, and Steve paid.

He gave Bucky a nod and walked away.

Bucky’s memories hadn’t exaggerated that view, either. Wow. The after-image lingered pleasantly for several minutes.

Until the next horde of children descended on the shop.

**Wednesday**

It was two hours past when Steve usually came in. If two days in a row even counted as usually.

The lack of adorable hotness was bad enough, but now Bucky was forced to admit to himself exactly how much he’d been looking forward to talking to Steve again, and dammit he knew better than to hope for things. 

He was in the process of cleaning a table far more aggressively than it deserved, when the bell over the door jingled.

A very handsome man walked in, with a laugh that made Bucky wish he was in on the joke and one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen. Of course, Bucky might have smiled like that, too, if he’d gotten a lingering pat on the shoulder from Steve the way this guy had.

Steve wasn’t wearing running clothes. He was in a damned suit, charcoal gray with a dark red tie. The other guy was in a suit, too They were both in suits, and Bucky was in an apron. 

Fine. Whatever. Bucky could absolutely handle this. He went around behind the counter and washed his hands as Darcy leapt into Steve’s arms and complimented him on his improved huggability.

Thinking about hugging Steve was not at all helpful, so Bucky didn’t. Instead, he turned to Steve’s maybe-boyfriend. “Welcome to Scooper-Dooper. Can I offer you a sample?”

“Hi there! You must be the Bucky I’ve heard so much about. I’m Sam,” the guy said, sticking out his hand for Bucky to shake.

“Uh, hi,” Bucky said, shaking Sam’s hand. “Our special today is Lemon Sorbet, but you might be more interested in the Walnut Brownie.”

“Oh yeah?” Sam said, surprised. “Why’s that?”

Bucky shrugged. “You seem like you have really good taste.”

Sam raised an eyebrow, then glanced over his shoulder to where Steve was still talking to Darcy. When he turned back, his sunny smile was in place again. “As a matter of fact, I have great taste. And if you’re lucky, someday I’ll bring in my husband as proof.”

“Your husband,” Bucky said with a grin. “Well, for that, you get extra whipped cream on your order. What can I get you?”

“Walnut Brownie sounds good. One scoop, with caramel sauce.”

“You weren’t kidding. Excellent taste.” Bucky set to work, and didn’t forget the extra whipped cream. 

By the time Bucky finished ringing up Sam’s sundae, Steve had made his way to the counter. 

“So, what am I getting?” Steve asked, flashing his gorgeous smile.

“That depends on what you want.” Bucky’s voice had gone a bit huskier than he intended, and Steve’s eyes widened, and Bucky reminded himself that he was supposed to be working. 

Sam shook his head and walked away, to a table with a good vantage point.

“Uh, that’s -- ” Steve stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ice cream display for a moment, then looked back up with a crooked smile. “You’re the expert. What should I want?”

Bucky was pretty sure he’d get fired if he gave the answer he’d been thinking of, so he said, “I’m not really an expert. You might be better off just picking your own flavor.“

“I trust you.”

Oh hell, Steve put so much sincerity into that statement, Bucky felt like he’d suddenly learned to fly. A disturbing mixture of absolute terror and sheer joy was not something he should be feeling over a conversation about ice cream.

“Worst case scenario, you’d end up with orange sherbet,” Bucky said lightly.

“Is there something wrong with the orange sherbet?”

“Other than it being a dirty rotten imposter, pretending to be ice cream when there are so many real ice creams to try, no. Why, do -- oh, no, are you one of those people who likes that stuff?”

“If I say yes, do I have to give you three reasons or something?” Steve said, holding back a laugh.

Bucky grinned. “Absolutely.”

“It’s not like it’s my favorite ...”

“All right, _two_ reasons, then.”

“Well, you remember the Push-up Pops from the ice cream trucks? Watching the right guy eat one of those was a life changing experience, for some of us.” Steve raised an eyebrow. 

Bucky couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, I preferred Rocket Pops, but that’s still a very good reason.” 

“And I like the color,” Steve said, shyly looking down at the display again. “It’s got that vintage look, nostalgic and calm. Though, the nostalgia is also because my mom used to sneak it into the hospital for me, sometimes.”

The way Steve veered between lighthearted flirting and heartstopping earnestness left Bucky charmed and completely off balance. 

“Well,” Bucky said, with a smile that was probably dopier than he’d like, “since you didn’t put _taste_ on your list ...”

“It was gonna be next!”

“You said you only had two!”

“I was ...” Steve snapped his mouth shut and dropped his shoulders in defeat. “Okay, fine, what?”

“If you want the orange --”

“Nope. I told you, I trust you. I’m putting myself in your capable hands.”

Oh, if only. 

Bucky chuckled, buying enough time to kick his brain cells back into action. “Peaches and cream. The color is similar, and it’s still old-fashioned, but it’s actual ice cream, so it tastes good.”

“Guess you’re an expert after all.”

Oh fuck. Bucky was pretty sure that Steve’s wholesome sincerity was going to be the end of him.

He licked his lips and said, “I can put it in a cone, if you wanted to reenact the whole blow pop thing.”

“Push-up pop, not -- jeez. I can’t believe I told you that.” Steve looked up at the ceiling, all flustered and off-balance. It was fantastic. “Um. No to the cone, yes to the peaches and cream. Please. One scoop.”

It took every ounce of Bucky’s self control not to ask if he wanted nuts with that, but he managed, scooping out Steve’s ice cream and handing it over in silence, like the goddamn professional he was. 

“No toppings?” Steve asked.

“Well, hot fudge doesn’t actually go with everything. Strawberry sauce would probably taste good with it, but it’s not exactly a calming color, so I figured you wouldn’t want any, since you were in it for the aesthetic.”

“That’s true.” Steve said, sounding a little surprised. “Thank you. This was really thoughtful.” 

Rather than brush it off, Bucky said softly, “My pleasure.”

Steve met his eyes for what felt like a long moment, then turned to go sit with Sam.

It wasn’t until an hour later that Bucky rang up a single scoop and put it on his own credit card, because he’d forgotten to have Steve pay.

Absolutely worth it.

**Thursday**

Technically, it wasn’t the worst day Bucky had ever had.

He’d been yelled at, cursed at, he’d made at least three kids cry, and he didn’t want to think about what he’d found in the bathroom ever, ever again. But technically, he’d had days that were worse.

Thinking about those days didn’t make this one seem any better, though.

The bell over the door jingled again as Steve came in, dressed in his running clothes. Darcy was on the phone, so she just wiggled her fingers at him.

Bucky set a water bottle on the counter and asked, “Want a sample with that?”

“Sure! What flavor is good today?” 

Steve’s smile was as dazzling as ever. Bucky felt his lips turn up automatically in response as he reached for the sample scooper. “Uh, well, I need more data. You never told me what you thought about the peaches and cream.” 

“Data,” Steve repeated softly, with a laugh in his voice. “The peaches and cream was lovely. I think maybe I’m ready to branch out, though. Less fruit, more chocolate?”

“Can’t go wrong with chocolate.”

Bucky got out one of the little edible sample bowls and started to scoop some Almond Fudge Ripple.

“Oh,” Steve said. “You switched hands.”

When Bucky looked up, Steve straightened his shoulders like he was bracing himself. 

Shit. Bucky hadn’t meant to glare.

He set down the scooper and leaned against the counter. “I, uh. Yeah. I switched hands. There was a customer. Said I was _unsanitary."_

“Oh, what the fuck,” Steve said, more pained than shocked.

“They recommended getting a job where I could work in the back, so I wouldn’t offend people.”

“Jesus.”

“Then they wanted to talk to the manager, and Darcy said they should go get ice cream somewhere else, because we don’t serve bigots. And now she’s telling the owner about it, and hopefully we won’t both get fired.”

“Like hell will they fire you for that. Not unless they want a goddamn protest in their parking lot.” Steve was lit up with righteous fury, standing tall with his jaw set like he was ready to take on the world. It wasn’t anything Bucky had expected, and it was kind of amazingly beautiful to see. “I can get fifty people here _tomorrow_ if I need to, with signs and chants and full media coverage. Not a fucking chance will they get away with --”

“Steve!”

He turned just in time for Darcy to catch him in a hug.

She laughed up at him. “You planning to fight the whole universe again, sweaty guy? You’ve got your grumpy face on.”

“I heard about what happened. What did your boss say?”

“Uh, nothin’? What’s to say?”

“That we’re fired?” Bucky said.

“Pfft, Bobby Drake isn’t dumb enough to let me go. He’d have to come in here and run the place himself, and you know he wouldn’t survive the tiny gymnasts.” She looked Bucky over. “Dude, that was all super shitty. You want to take the rest of the day off?”

“I’m all right.”

Darcy nodded, eyes full of compassion, and headed for the back room.

“Hey Darcy?” Bucky called. When she turned, he said, “Thank you.”

She ran over and stopped just in front of him, frowning. ”I have a strict no-hugging policy with employees.”

Bucky chuckled. “Good policy. I’m actually on break right this second, though.”

Darcy laughed and gave him a quick hug. “Now get back to work, you’ve got a customer to take care of.”

He snapped a fake salute at her and turned back to Steve, who actually literally had his chin propped in his hands. “Uh, sorry to ruin your protest.”

“Oh, don’t worry, there’s plenty of other great causes out there,” Steve said, straightening up and flashing a smile.

Jesus. Being called a ‘great cause’ by Steve was even warmer than being hugged by Darcy. Bucky distracted himself by scooping a sample of Almond Fudge Ripple, asking, “You still interested?”

“Very interested,” Steve said, almost wistfully.

Bucky looked up at him, but Steve was fiddling with the label on his water bottle and not looking back.

Moving quickly, because he wasn’t sure if it was against the rules or not, Bucky spooned some hot fudge onto the ice cream and handed the sample over to Steve. 

The movement caught Steve’s eye, and he smiled, looking down at the sample in Bucky’s hand. He gave a little laugh and said, “Thanks,” before he took it and popped it in his mouth. 

Bucky was pretty sure he was going to have to feed Steve chocolate every time he came in here. The way his eyelashes fluttered when he slowly blinked was bad enough, but the soft little ‘oh’ sound he made was going to haunt Bucky’s fantasies forever.

After he swallowed, Steve said, “Wow. I have to go, but the data on that one is all good.”

He pulled out his credit card, and Bucky hurriedly rang up the water bottle. Just before he turned to go, Steve said, “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah!” Bucky answered, with an embarrassing amount of enthusiasm.

Steve grinned over his shoulder and said, “Great!” 

Yeah. Steve was definitely getting more chocolate next time. Even it if meant Bucky had to clean hot fudge out of all the joints of his fingers again.

**Friday**

Darcy had entrusted Bucky with the shop while she went on an emergency whipped cream run, so she wasn’t there to pounce on Steve when he came in. Bucky tried not to dwell on the thought of how nice it would be to fill in for her on that particular chore and just gave a big grin and said, “Steve!"

“Hi!” Steve said, all bright and smiley. “How’s your day been?”

“Not bad, so far, but Darcy did accidentally spill a whole jar of gummy bears. Little suckers bounced _everywhere._ I bet some of them are up in the ceiling tiles right this second, plotting our demise.”

Steve laughed, and Bucky couldn’t resist trying to get more of that sound. “Better keep an eye out, ‘cause I’m not convinced we could take them in a fight. They are devious little fuckers.”

Oh god, Steve laughed so hard he had to prop himself on the counter to stay upright. Bucky felt like he’d just won a gold medal, and he laughed right along. How could he not?

With a deep breath, Steve straightened again and said, “So, I wanted to ask, since you’re my ice cream expert, what kind of thing should someone order on a date?”

That was a hell of an interesting question, and Bucky had to stomp hard on the instinct to hope that it meant something. “Um. Well, banana splits are definitely out.”

Steve blinked in surprise, and Bucky was too distracted by his eyelashes to stop himself going off on a tangent. “Couples order them all the time, but it seems a little rude to ask someone you barely know to eat a big old phallic symbol in front of you. And you wouldn’t believe the things people do to those poor bananas.”

“Oh?”

He was so wide-eyed and adorable, Bucky kept right on going. “Cutting them up with a spoon is bad enough, but mashing them into a sticky paste seems overly violent. Person I’m dating does that, I’m gonna spend the rest of the evening with my legs crossed, I’m telling you.”

Steve laughed again, and propped his elbows on the counter. “Okay, that does sound kind of terrifying, but is there a non-violent way to go about that?”

Since Darcy wasn’t around to see, Bucky leaned against the case and said, “You could eat it with your fingers.” 

“All covered in whipped cream and toppings?” Steve asked, the picture of innocence, until the corner of his mouth crooked up the tiniest bit. 

“Sure,” Bucky said. “Then you lick your fingers clean. Kinda like the blow pop experience.”

Steve chuckled and looked down at the ice cream display. “Oookay, so save bananas for the third date. Got it.”

Oh, right, they were supposed to be talking about what to order on a date, and Bucky wasn’t supposed to hope this hard. “You don’t want to go with anything straight from the menu, anyway. Gotta show you put some thought into it, right? Let them know you care. So. Start with a three scoop sundae. That way you can share.”

“So it’s intimate,” Steve said, looking up through his lashes and ruining Bucky’s efforts at not hoping. 

“Yeah. Intimate. Exactly.” He looked over the display case so he could stop looking at Steve’s lips. “First scoop is cinnamon. It’s warm and innocent, but interesting. Tastes like home, you know?” 

“Uh, yeah, that’s ... Yeah.”

Steve was still doing the eyelash thing, and Bucky wasn’t sure he could survive it, but he went on. “Right. So the next scoop is coffee. Goes great with the cinnamon, but it’s a little darker. Little sexier. And the whole thing is gonna have hot fudge on top, which, you can’t beat coffee and chocolate.”

Steve smiled. “Well, I know the hot fudge is good.” 

“Now, you have some options for the third scoop. You could go with vanilla --”

“Really? Isn’t that kinda boring?”

Bucky shrugged. “It’s our best seller for a reason. It’s safe. A lot of people appreciate that, especially on a first date. But, if it’s someone you know a little better, this is the perfect opportunity to show that, and order their favorite.”

“How do I know if it’ll match?”

“Maybe it won’t. That’s what dating is all about. But if you’re going out with some weirdo who’s only into orange sherbet, you could try pairing it with lemon sorbet and whatever other fruity shit we’ve got that day.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Oh gee, when you put it that way, how could I resist?”

“Look, I don’t claim to understand sherbet people.”

Grinning, Steve said, “Okay, so, cinnamon, coffee, and their favorite, with hot fudge and no bananas. Whipped cream?”

“Oh, I always say yes to whipped cream.”

“All right, great,” Steve said, and he was already going toward the door, calling over his shoulder, “Thanks for the advice, Bucky.”

“No problem,” Bucky said, as the bell tinkled.

What the hell was that? Was he supposed to have asked Steve out? Had he made Steve change his mind? Would he ever fucking learn not to hope for shit?

Steve hadn’t even bought a water bottle.

Darcy came back, just in time for a batch of Bitsy Bumblers to come shrieking through the store. It turned out that Fridays were the worst, with wave after wave of over-excited children and their exhausted, hollow-eyed grownups, all getting their fix of sugar to kick off the weekend.

By the time his shift ended, Bucky’s ears were ringing again, and it felt like it took forever to get his hands clean. The sticky residue always evaded the plastic gloves somehow and settled between the plates of his fingers.

When he came out from the back room, Darcy was busy assembling a sundae. She didn’t look up at him as she said, “Hey, would you mind running this out to the patio for me, before you go? Customer is waiting.”

“Yeah, sure.” He grabbed some napkins and spoons as she sprayed on whipped cream, and took the sundae from her when she finished. He looked it over as he walked.

Whipped cream. Hot fudge. A scoop of cinnamon. A scoop of coffee.

And a scoop of rum raisin.

Steve was sitting at the little table out front, wearing jeans and a plaid shirt, looking hotter than Bucky had ever seen him. He pulled a spoon from his front pocket and offered it to Bucky with a shy smile.

Bucky grinned and sat down, bumping their knees together as he took the spoon from Steve.

“If you had said no, my plan was to sink into the sidewalk and evaporate,” Steve said, looking down into the bowl of ice cream.

“And what was your plan if I said yes?” Bucky said, letting his voice be as low and dark as he wanted, now that he was off the clock.

“I was leaning pretty strongly towards eating a bunch of ice cream and then kissing you.” 

Steve’s smile was positively wicked, and it made Bucky all hopeful, in spite of himself. “Are you set on doing it in that order, or are you open to suggestion?”

“You are my ice cream expert. I’d be happy with whatever you recommend.”

Bucky leaned in closer, and Steve leaned in to meet him with the sweetest little kiss.

He was pretty sure he could hear Darcy shouting ‘YES’ from inside the shop.

Steve sat back and chuckled to himself.

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Oh, just ...” He fiddled with his spoon. “It’s really cheesy, are you sure you want to know?”

“Well now I absolutely need to know.”

Steve squared his shoulders and looked into Bucky’s eyes. He said softly, “I think I might have found my favorite.”

Oh fuck, Bucky kissed him again. Bucky planned to kiss him forever. He pulled away long enough to say, “You’re right, that’s really fucking cheesy.”

Steve laughed. “Sorry, I can’t help it.”

“Nope, you’re not allowed to be sorry. I’m pretty sure cheesy is my favorite.”


End file.
